Growth of ultrathin epitaxial 3C-SiC films on Si(100) by pulsed supersonic free jets of CH₃SiH₃

We have developed a new method for epitaxial growth of ultrathin (∼nm) 3C-SiC films on Si(100) by pulsed supersonic free jets of methylsilane (CH₃SiH₃). It was found that pit formation at the SiC/Si(100) interface was suppressed by increasing the pulse width and the surface roughness was decreased by decreasing the number of CH3SiH3 jet pulses. A linear relationship was observed between the film thickness and the pulse number in the thin film region of less than =40 nm, while the growth rate was decreased and the thickness was eventually saturated for further pulse irradiation.